FGCU Volleyball: Conference vs. Kennesaw/Lipscomb Preview

Starting off strong after playing 11 straight matches on the road, the FGCU volleyball team continues their path as conference goes on and prepares to wrap up their 11 game road trip and face Lipscomb and Kennesaw State for conference play.

The Eagles (9-5) recently competed against Bethune-Cookman for non-conference play before beginning conference play on the road against Stetson. They would tame the Wildcats and shut them out 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-19) and shutout the Hatters 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-21) to open conference.

Since being on the road, the Eagles are 6-2 overall and will start off against the Owls (7-3, 1-0 A-SUN) at 7 p.m. and then play the Lady Bison (6-7, 0-1 A-SUN) at 5 p.m. before playing their first conference game at home against USC Upstate.

The duo of junior outside hitter Amanda Carroll and freshman outside hitter Cortney VanLiew still leads the charge on the road offensively. Carroll, in the last nine matches, has a total of 119 kills and 17 service aces. VanLiew had 98 kills and eight service aces in the last nine matches. Carroll moved from 18th to 16th in the nation in kills per set (4.60) and remains in the top 50 (48th) in kills (216).

Junior Setter Maggie Rick remains ranked 22nd in the nation in assists per set (11.29). In the last nine matches, the defending A-SUN Setter of the Year had 301 assists.

Junior libero Karissa Rhoades had 118 digs in the last nine matches.

Scouting Kennesaw:
The Owls (7-3, 1-0 A-SUN), prior to the start of conference, recently played against Georgia State and power five teams Georgia, No. 12 Kentucky (now No. 10) and Louisville. The would beat the Panthers 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-12) and the Bulldogs (27-25, 25-20, 25-19), but would fall 1-3 to the Wildcats (17-25, 26-24, 15-25, 19-25) and get shutout by the Cardinals 0-3 (21-25, 14-25, 20-25). They would win the first conference match against Lipscomb by a score of 3-2 (31-29, 19-25, 22-25, 27-25, 15-7).

Junior outside hitter Maddie Jones leads the team in kills (106) while senior setter Kristi Piedmonte leads with 356 assists.

Senior libero Katarina Morton leads with 143 digs and senior middle blocker Rachel Taylor leads with 23 blocks.

Series History:
The Eagles are currently 14- 6 against the Owls. Last time both teams met, both teams split in the season. The Eagle would lose 1-3 at Kennesaw, but would come back to win 3-2 at home. Both teams would play in the conference tournament semifinals where the Eagles would be victorious and win 3-2 to advance to the A-SUN Tournament Finals.

Scouting Lipscomb:
The Lady Bison (6-7, 0-1 A-SUN) recently competed in the Gator Invitational hosted by Florida. The three time A-SUN Conference Tournament champion team would shutout former A-SUN Conference member Northern Kentucky 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-20) and FAMU 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-20) before falling to host No. 3 Florida (now No.1) 1-3 (20-25, 16-25, 25-19, 16-25). The Lady Bison lost their first conference match against Kennesaw by a score of 2-3.

Junior outside hitter Carlyle Nusbaum leads the team offensively with 235 kills. Junior setter Marcella Emmanuelli and sophomore setter Morgan Elmore combine a total of 550 assists. Defensively, junior middle blocker Ca'Layci Coffey,  junior right side hitter Carli Anderson, sophomore middle blocker Maddie Phillips and senior libero Brittany Thomas lead the charge on defense. Coffey, Phillips and Anderson have a combine total of 112 blocks while Thomas leads with 186 digs.

Series History:
In the matchups between FGCU and Lipscomb, FGCU is 5-16 against Lipscomb. Last time both teams met, both split in the season. FGCU would shutout Lipscomb at Lipscomb 3-0, which was the first win over the Lady Bison since 2012. Lipscomb would shutout FGCU 3-0 at FGCU in return. Both teams met in the finals of A-SUN Conference Tournament Championship match where Lipscomb emerged victorious and beat FGCU 3-1 to qualify for the national tournament.

So far, the standings in the A-SUN Conference of overall record and record in conference are as noted:
1. Kennesaw State 7-3, 1-0
2. FGCU 9-5, 1-0
3. Jacksonville 6-7, 1-0
4. USC Upstate  4-10, 1-0
5. NJIT  7-8, 0-1
6. Lipscomb  6-7, 0-1
North Florida 6-9, 0-1
Stetson 1-12, 0-1